Through their first four successful singles, the Zac Brown Band has already shown us 4 distinctly different types of songs; a country life trope, a love song, an island/beach song, and a ballad. So it should come as no surprise that their fifth and likely final release from The Foundation is an entirely different type of song, the easy listening “Free.” Although it has a different sound, Brown & co. once again relies on the everyman virtues that have made their previous singles such successes.
The simple acoustic arrangements do a great job to highlight Brown’s voice on the verses, and co-producers Brown and Keith Stegall make great use of the band’s harmonies on the chorus. The lyrics, although somewhat thin, serve the song quite well, and do paint an effective picture of the freedom the couple in the song achieves. The song does get a bit too repetitious, especially during the bridge (where the phrase “We don’t need a lot of money” is repeated seven times), and I think the chorus would be better served with an additional line or two.
Overall though, the Zac Brown Band has put forth yet another stellar and distinctive effort from what is still their first album. The easy listening feel will work perfectly as the song climbs the charts during the summer months, proving once and for all that not all summer songs have to blow out your speakers.
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